Lemon-Almond Poppyseed Muffins to start off our vacation

I am very thankful that my job, at a high school, is an eleven-month job. Our school calendar begins in mid-August, with a one week Fall Break, two-week Winter Break, and one week Spring Break! During the month of July, I am on (unpaid) vacation- and I am spoiled rotten!

On the flip-side, work has been really hectic so I've fallen far behind in reading all my Google Reader feeds for some of my favorite blogs. I also try to explore new blogs. This morning, I stumbled across an unfamiliar blog to me "Megan's Cooking".

I have a few "flavor triggers"-- that is, certain ingredients that totally grabs my attention. To name a few, caramel, pumpkin, strawberries and honey. On the very top of my favorite list of these triggers is almond. To be specific, I adore anything with almond extract. Marzipan sends me over the edge with flavor bliss.
So when I saw Megan's Cookin  Almond Poppyseed Muffins had almond extract as an ingredient, I knew that I was going to make them immediately as a breakfast treat.

Fortunately, every ingredient is a pantry/refrigerator staple in our home. I only had low-fat vanilla yogurt and I was relieved to find a bag of  Trader Joe's Dry Toasted Sliced Almonds. If you can find these almonds, they are inexpensive and so good. Otherwise- you can toast your own in a dry skillet for just a couple of minutes.  My baking powder container is where I store some of my (many) measuring spoons-- a tip I read in a magazine that says to "unhook" them so you can wash one at a time. Ya know-- it's so much easier! The recipe (as always) is on the bottom of this posting for all of the ingredients-- lemon zest, almond extract, eggs, yogurt, butter, flour, sugar and poppy seeds.

The poppyseeds and baking powder are whisked into the flour...

The butter and sugar is mixed until fluffy... then the eggs (I opted not to use the just egg whites, but you can), the lemon zest and the almond extract. Last the dry ingredients are mixed in (on low) alternately with the yogurt.

I am not afraid to taste any kind of batter to make sure that it's seasoned right- this batter is a winner!

I decided to use a king-sized muffin pan-- I don't mess around when it comes to making or eating muffin! I'm a big fan of using an ice cream scoop. I think it's so much easier. I filed them paper cups about halfway.

I put these into a 350F oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.  Five minutes later-- I realized I forgot to put the almond slices on top! D'oh!

These tested "clean" and I cooled them for a few minutes.  I had enough batter for four more muffins, so this time I added the almonds to the batter.

Right about now, Craig was waiting in the wings for one of these.

Amateur "food stylist" that I am, I balanced some almonds on top... pretty, huh?

These are moist with just the right ratio of almond flavor. I love the crunch of poppyseeds and a nice hint of lemon. Megan, I'm so glad that I found your recipe. This one is a winner!  I did rename the recipe to include "lemon" because I love the flavor of that, too. This is for you:

Not only do I have so much fun and enjoyment when I share a recipe with my blogger/foodie friends-- I love it when I discover a recipe from a newly discovered blog.  Please try these-- they are excellent!

Enjoying my Fall vacation,